Tag Archives: the burren

Burren farmers are a breed apart; a fact the Prince of Wales learned for himself during his jovial visit to the area on Tuesday. The heir to the British throne visited the lands of father-and-son farmers, Pat and Oliver Nagle, at Pullaghcarron and while there, tried his hand at the unusual form of dry stone walling undertaken in the Burren. It involves standing the stone upright rather than laying them flat. His Royal Highness needs more practice if he is to become as adept as Oliver and Pat, who have been upgrading the walls on their farm for the past five years, as part of the Burren Life Farming for Conservation Programme. One Burrenbeo conservation volunteer, Richard Morrison was particularly charitable in relation to the Prince’s efforts: “I think we could have prepared him a bit better by giving him a better stone and a better place.” Richard might be right. Tuition was brief before Prince Charles laid a flat …

May 19, 2015Comments Off on Prince Charles visits Nagle family farm in Carron

His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales, expressed his desire to return to the Burren in the future and invited two North Clare farmers to come to his estate in Norfolk, when he visited the farm of Pat and Oliver Nagle at Pullaghcarron this afternoon. The Nagles farm 70 acres at Sliabh Carron, with 16 cows and one bull, from October to May. Prince Charles was invited to Clare by Burrenbeo Trust and Burren Life. The Nagles’ farm was selected as the location for the visit because they have the highest score of any farm under the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme. When the prince arrived he was greeted by Pat who guided him across the rocky landscape before introducing him to Michael Davoren of Burren IFA. [doptg id=”68″] Dr Brendan Dunford of Burren Life outlined to the prince a little of the history of the Burren, its landscape and spoke about the Burren Farming for Conservation programme. Prince Charles learned about …

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales explored the rare flowers of the Burren in the company of local farmers, schoolchildren, conservation staff and volunteers this afternoon. During the visit, Prince Charles learned about the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme (FCP), an award-winning agri-environment programme, which is funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. He was also introduced to the work of the Burrenbeo Trust, a local charity which co-ordinates a number of community-led education and conservation initiatives. The Prince was welcomed by Dr Brendan Dunford, manager of the Burren FCP Programme, and introduced to some of the unique botanical, geological and archaeological features of the Burren. Prince Charles discussed the farming of the land with his host, Burren FCP farmer, Patrick Nagle, and local farm leader, Michael Davoren. Mr Nagle showed off some of the work he had completed through the Burren FCP – including the …

Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Pat Breen, in welcoming the impending visit of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla to County Clare, said today (Tuesday) that their visit provides an opportunity to showcase the Burren to a global audience. “The visit of the Prince of Wales, Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, is testament to the strong and warm relationship which now exists between England and Ireland. The fact that the royals have included a visit to the Burren in their itinerary is a major boost for this county,” Deputy Breen. Speaking of the benefits for his native county, Mr Breen said, “Prince Charles is recognised for having a strong interest in the environment and in agriculture. In the Burren, he will be able to see for himself how the local farming community have adapted their farming methods to the challenging landscape of the area which is delivering significant environment benefits. “It …

The North Clare business community is getting involved in keeping the roads and laneways of the Burren tidy through a scheme rolled out by the Burren Ecotourism Network (BEN), and supported by Clare County Council and the Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark Over 30 businesses have already signed up to the Adopt a Hedgerow Scheme, which sees participants clearing, monitoring and reporting on litter in the protected landscape of the Burren. The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark is providing training and materials to BEN under the GeoparkLIFE project to ensure that adopt a hedgerow becomes a long term scheme that will inspire other business communities in other parts of the county. BEN says the scheme will be extended in June to include the reporting of invasive species such as Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogweed and Dogwood, which can negatively impact on native species that have been part of the Burren ecosystem for millennia. “Each of the participating businesses, which are all members of our network, is taking …

November 30, 2014Comments Off on Clare to feature in The Evolution of Ireland

HISTORIAN and archaeologist Stephen Daly is working on an extremely ambitious book tracing the development of Ireland and he visited the Banner County last week as part of his project. Between 2001 and 2008, he completed a degree in history, a postgraduate qualification in archaeology and worked on some major civil engineering projects in the West and Mid-West. In 2009, he began working on this book and it has taken up nearly all his energy since. “I’ve been at it full-time for the last five years. I never intended for it to be so long but I decided to devote the time that it demanded. I said I’d do it right if I was going doing it at all.” Explaining what the book will cover, he says, “It’s called The Evolution of Ireland and it’s basically telling the complete story of Ireland, so it’s going back to the earliest human settlers of the island and even before that. It’ll go …

October 8, 2014Comments Off on Belgians latest to view Wild Atlantic Way

Some 750,000 Belgians are the latest TV viewers who will be given an insight into the Banner County the Wild Atlantic Way. A crew from one of the most popular weekly travel shows, Vlaanderen Vakantieland (Flanders on Holiday), on VRT, a national Belgian TV network, travelled on the invitation of Tourism Ireland to film along the Wild Atlantic Way this summer. They captured footage for four different episodes, which are airing this month in Belgium. Two well-known Belgian actors are featured enjoying the relaxed pace of a holiday by horse-drawn caravan along the route. Filming was carried out at various locations, including Clare Heritage Museum, the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. The TV show will also feature sea-kayaking at Ballyvaughan and Dolphinwatch conservation in Carrigaholt. The episodes filmed in Ireland are also being promoted by Tourism Ireland on its website, www.ireland.com, by email marketing and social media activity; as well as on the Vlaanderen Vakantieland website.

September 17, 2014Comments Off on A scientific experience in the Burren

THE Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark will mark Earth Science Week 2014 in October by hosting a series of events. Earth Science week was initiated in 1998 by the American Geosciences Institute which has been holding events in the third week of October ever since. Geological associations and institutes around the world now participate to promote awareness and education of all aspects of Earth Science. Among the events being hosted by the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark is a fieldtrip for university students looking at climate change in the rocks of the Burren. There will also be a water tracing project for transition year students from Lisdoonvarna Secondary School, which is being supported by the Clare Caving Club, the Geological Survey of Ireland and Clare County Council.